Sausage smoke rack



July 26, 1949. o. G. MAYER, JR

' SAUSAGE SMOKE RACK Filed Nov. 29, 1945 l N VEN TOR. BQSCUZ JG I I ATTORNEJG Patented July 26, 1949 antes siiUsAGiE sMonEnAGm Amputation-Newman 29, 1945;SerialNo -6313663 eoiaims. (CL-17944.41)

invention is 1 concerned with-improvements i in a smoke sticks or racks lofthe type Whi'Cl'I are used in supporting-linksausages during-the curing; smokinggcooking andclrillingsoperations.

In the manufacture of Imeatsproducts-such .as

smoked sausages, iittis customary toghang the smoked and cooked without leaving any light spots or unsmoked areas; which-spots are unsightly and subject to rapid deterioration.

It is anobject of mylinvention to [provide a smoke stick or rack which. will support link sausagesduring the smoking a dcicookingoperation out-.of contact with eachother and -in-such a manner that each sausage will be fully subject to the smoking and cooking operations and any pressure contact with the smoke stick will be had solely at the connections between the sausages.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a smoke stick which will support link sausages by contact with the connecting tissue areas between the sausages and in such manner that the sausages hanging from the stick will not be subject to abrupt bending stresses whereby hooked ends and curved portions will be avoided and a final product having a more uniform shape will be obtained.

Other objects of my invention are to provide a smoke stick comprising thin blade-like sausage supporting elements which will not unduly obstruct the circulation of the smoke and other fluids in the processing chamber, which is light in weight yet sturdy enough to withstand the hard usage encountered in a packing house, and. which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

The above objects as well as others will be apparent from a description of my device, the preferred form of which is shown, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved smoke stick;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a sausage cage ly a utwardi-vaditediporti n showing an empty;smoke stickzandgao.partially loaded onetarranged thiereon;

Fig. 3; is: a transverse sectionof; my; smoke sticksrwith' sausage. links arranged-thereon; and;

Fig. .4118 :an enlarged iViW10f h upper port on of Fi 3.

Th preferred; form ofmy mnroved sm stick: it, as i11ustrated theedrawinsst: om.- prises. two parallel. "1313 211 3 8 platesmemb rsl ll arrangedin. acornmon-h ri ontal rplane antimonnected by. spaced cross.- rods .:-or;.=braee member I 2 secured to theqplatesqli in any1:conventional manner. The plates 1 I andzth :c ossvrods; 1.2 may; be, made ofanyrmaterialu of sufificien-t stren th butpar prefera lyconstru t d of metal andt a thickn ss rtoxnrovide i idrack hayin plac dsthere n. Elashpi a;vertica11yarran e.d portionililand an -u wardwhena normals usa ei n 1. on, as oWninia. the only tenure-con ac with the sm ket c c flwi -.-b :on a-reiatireiy hi l n betw enxth c ep ed tcof thernortmn l-toitnerlates-J l and the. nor ionioisthescasing. or tissue, I1 connecting the sausage IS with the adjacent sausages Hi. The weight of the sausages on each side of the sausage 15 will tend to tension the sausages i5 and i8 and hold their ends away from the plate surfaces l9 and 20, respectively. The sausages l8 will hang substantially vertical and hooked or bent ends thereon will be avoided. The sausages will also be supported without any tendency of the loops to twist into contact with each other. The normal length of the connecting tissue I1 is such that when sausages are arranged as shown in Fig. 4 there will be suflicient space to accommodate the thin bladelike portion l 4 of the plate [I without substantial pressure contact with the body or filled portion of the sausage. Consequently, when the sausages are subjected to the smoking and cooking operations the entire surface of all the sausages will be properly smoked and cooked and light spots or unsmoked areas will in large measure be avoided, thus eliminating subsequent loss due to premature spoilage at such areas. The sausages l5 and i8 adjacent the supporting plates II are held in tension along their longitudinal axes during the entire processing and hooked or curved ends are avoided thus resulting in a product of more uniform shape which enhances the appearance of the same and renders them much easier to handle and package.

surfaces [9 and the filled portion of the sausage.

My rack construction will not necessarily eliminate all contact of the filled portions of the sausages i5, I8 with the side surfaces of the rack members but it will effectively eliminate any substantial pressure contact which would otherwise interfere with the proper processing of the meat, as distinguished from slight contact insufficient to prevent the processing or the formation of unsightly flat spots on the sausages- While I have referred to specific details of construction in describing the preferred form of my deviceit will be understood that other forms 'may \be resorted to within the spirit of my invention.

1 I claim: l

1. A smoke stick comprising a pair of relatively thin rigid horizontally arranged plates, means rigidly connecting said plates in spaced. parallel relation, sa'id plates having vertically positioned Zbase portions and upwardly and outwardly di- :rected top portions spaced apart a suificient dis- "tance to engage with the connecting casing between a sausage link positioned transversely Zabove the plates and the adjacent links in a :string of sausages and out of pressure contact with the filled portion of the sausages.

2. A smoke stick comprising a pair of rel atively thin parallel spaced plates each having a substantially vertical lower portion and an upawardly and outwardly directed upper portion, said plates being spaced apart a sufficient distance to engage the upper edge of the plates with the connecting casin at the ends of a link in a string of sausages and to position the upperplate portions between and out of pressure contact with the ends of the connected sausages, and means rigidly connecting the lower vertical portions of said plates in fixed spaced apart relation.

3. A smoke rack for use in smoking a string of link type sausages, comprising two rigid horizontally arranged plate-like rail members having vertical base portions which are cross-connected at intervals in spaced parallel relation and upstanding thin blade-like sausage supporting portions, which portions are inclined outwardly in opposite directions to extend into the reentrant angles between adjoining sausages into pressure contact at their edges with the connecting tissues between the sausages so as to effect no appreciable deflection of the sausages when a string of sausages is draped over the rack with one sausage disposed horizontally between said blade portions and the'adjoining sausages suspended from the ends of the horizontal sausage.

4. A sausage support for smoke house use, comprising agenerally rectangular frame having a pair 'of'relatively thin rigid plate-like side rail members and rigid transverse connecting members separating the lower portions or said rails in vertical spaced relation, said raii members having upper outwardly directed portions which are spaced apart a suflicient distance to engage only the tissue connecting adjacent sausages in a string whereby when said support is disposed horizontally for use and a sausage link is supported thereon adjacent sausages will depend therefrom without pressure contact between the filled portion of the sausages and the support.

OSCAR G. MAYER, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of" record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

